The present invention relates to a cooking apparatus of the heated air circulating type.
The conventional cooking apparatus of the heated air circulating type includes a heated air blowoff aperture for supplying heated air into an oven cavity and an intake aperture for taking out air from the oven cavity for recirculation purposes. Both the heated air blowoff aperture and the intake aperture are formed in the ceiling wall of the oven cavity and, therefore, a uniform cooking is not ensured. Further problems occur when a double stage tray is employed, because the foodstuff mounted on the lower tray does not receive a sufficient amount of the heated air.
An improvement is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,898,437, COMBINATION ELECTRIC COOKING APPLIANCE, by Donald L. McFarland, which was issued on Aug. 4, 1959. In the appliance disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,898,437, the heated air blowoff aperture is formed at the corner of the ceiling wall, and the intake aperture is formed in the lower section of the side wall of the oven cavity. Even in such an appliance, a uniform flow of the heated air in the oven cavity is not ensured.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooking apparatus of the heated air circulating type, which ensures uniform cooking.
Another object of the present invention is to locate a heated air blowoff aperture and an intake aperture at the most preferable positions to ensure a uniform cooking in a cooking apparatus of the heated air circulating type.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a heated air circulating system for ensuring uniform cooking in a cooking apparatus of the heated air circulating type including a double stage tray.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a combined cooking apparatus of a microwave oven and a cooking apparatus of the heated air circulating type.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
To achieve the above objects, pursuant to an embodiment of the present invention, an intake aperture is formed at the center of the ceiling wall of the oven cavity. A first blowoff aperture is formed in the ceiling wall at one edge thereof contacting a right side wall of the oven cavity. A second blowoff aperture is formed at the lower section of a left side wall of the oven cavity. The second blowoff aperture is located at a height slightly above the lower tray of a double stage tray, thereby effectively supplying the heated air to the foodstuff mounted on the lower tray.